California Baptist University
Mark Covert Classic (8K)
Lancers Take Fifth at Mark Covert Classic
9/1/2018 12:16:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Cross Country, Cross Country & Track
BREA, Calif. — In the first race of the Division I era at California Baptist University, the Lancers finished fifth in the 12-team, all DI field at the Mark Covert Invitational Saturday morning.
"As with any race, we had some good things and some things that need some work," said Coach Adam Tribble. "We were definitely running very tired, and I think we had some good efforts in spite of how we felt."
The Lancers finished with 174 team points to take fifth. Cal Poly took first, while UC Santa Barbara, Cal State Fullerton and Pepperdine rounded out second through fourth.
Simon Bedard led CBU, setting a new personal best in the process with a time of 25 minutes, 1.6 seconds on the 8k course. It was good for eighth place overall and just 10 seconds off a top-three finish.
"[Simon] is working hard," said Tribble. "I thought he did a nice job and he was definitely holding back a lot early in the race, very excited about where he is."
Dennis Messmer was the second Lancer to cross the finish line, clocking in at 25:42.1 for 32nd place, while McMarshall Hartzenburg was right behind him in 36th place with a time of 25:58.2. Newcomers Cody Beeson (26:00.5, 49th) and Hector Peralta (26:10.3, 60th) rounded out the top-five runners for CBU.
William Ernst (26:27.5, 75th) and Jayden Emerson (27:01.9, 95th) placed in the top-100, while Jacob Boatman (27:15.5, 101st) and Mike Alukunyang (27:18.9, 105th) were just on the cusp.
"It's a matter of getting back to work now and just continuing to make progress and get a little better each day," said Tribble.
In two weeks, CBU is back in action at the UC Riverside Invitational on September 15.
Players Mentioned
